Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), (also known nationally colloquially by the nickname as Guate), is the national capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It is also a municipality capital of the Guatemala Department and the most populous urban metropolitan area in the region of Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley).

Guatemala City is the site of the native Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu, founded around 3,500 years ago around 1500 B.C. in Pre-Columbian America / Mesoamerica. Following a substantial devastating earthquake in the nearby city and then Imperial Spanish colonial second capital city of La Antigua on the 29 July 1773, with aftershocks continuing through the rest of that year to December. Because of the massive devastation of this "Santa Marta Earthquake of 1773", and the limited resources and technology of that late 18th century period, the Spanish colonial capital of the region was moved from the ruined settlement of La Antigua three years later in 1776 to the current site and gradually rebuilt new town with the beginnings of modern Guatemala City and was made the third Royal capital of the surrounding Captaincy General of Guatemala of the larger Viceroyalty of New Spain of the then 275 year old Spanish Empire in the twin continents of the Americas (Western Hemisphere).

In the beginning of the next 19th century, in September 1821, Guatemala City was the scene of the famous Act of Independence of Central America, the adopted legislative document of the declaration of independence of the region from the Kingdom of Spain on the far off continent of Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean, and its worldwide Spanish Empire and especially in the Americas (Western Hemisphere). It was ratified and enacted on the 15th September 1821, (now celebrated annually as the Dias Patrios (Guatemalan Independence Day)). After this long-awaited historical event, the city then became the federation capital for the next several decades of the newly established and independent local government of the United Provinces of Central America (later reorganized / renamed as the Federal Republic of Central America, 1821–1847).

A quarter-century (26 years) later in August 1847, Guatemala declared itself an independent republic, separate from the larger federation of the former Federal Republic of Central America, with Guatemala City proclaimed as its continued national capital city.

Guatemala City and surrounding region was almost completely destroyed a century later by a second massive damaging series of earthquakes to hit the region in the modern era of the early 20th century with the 1917–1918 Guatemala earthquakes, which like in 1773, lasted for several Following months of continued aftershocks. Reconstructions in subsequent decades following these 1917-18 massive continued tremors / earthquakes which have now resulted in a more modern architectural landscape appearance with structures constructed on a more logical pattern of wider street grids and lay-out for the national capital. These substantial improvements were inspired by the historical experience and monumental architecture of post-18th century designs of trained architects in other famous national capital cities of the world, notably Paris, France and Washington, D.C.. Along with the use of the beginnings of more earthquake-resistant scientific construction materials, methods and techniques of building new structures and buildings similar to that which was also previously learned a thousand miles further north along the same geological faults / strata of the Pacific Ocean coastline in the United States after their famous but equally devastating Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of April 1906, in San Francisco, California, a decade before Guatemala's repeated disaster and tragedy.

Today, the national capital of Guatemala City is the political, cultural, religious and economic center of the Republic of Guatemala and exerts a wider significant financial, commercial / business influence plus as a cultural center for the Central America region and beyond, throughout Latin America.